This invention relates to countertops, and in particular to a smooth or rounded edge for laminate or veneer countertops.
Countertops such as kitchen counters, tables, furniture and the like, generally consist of a horizontal work surface and a largely ornamental vertical surface or face. When laminates or veneers are used on both the horizontal upper surface and the vertical face of countertops there are difficulties in joining these horizontal and vertical surfaces. Traditionally there has been a sharp right angle corner between the horizontal and vertical surface. Because of its sharpness, this corner is easily damaged when it is hit and when damaged it is difficult to repair. A sharp right angle corner is not as aesthetically pleasing as a rounded corner in most countertop applications. Recently there have been methods of introducing rounded corners for laminate countertops.
Methods of installing an aesthetically pleasing rounded countertop include the methods of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,310,435, and 6,183,585 to Kelley, (Kelley patents). The Kelley patents involve the placement of a component of solid surface, such as is commonly sold under the trademark name CORIAN, into notches in an edge piece of countertop, then finishing the surfaces to a desired radius to form a rounded edge.
Problems with this system include cutting solid surface material such as CORIAN to a rounded edge while this material is affixed to a laminate surface. Laminate surfaces as are commonly found in countertops often have a very thin color layer. Cuts or abrasions easily penetrate this color layer revealing what is often a dark underlayer. This results in significant waste and loss of time as the entire solid surface and laminate component must be discarded.
Solid surface materials also tend to be very expensive. It is desirable to have a method manufacturing rounded edge countertops that uses minimal amounts of solid surface material.
Other problems with the known prior art include the difficulty bonding or gluing solid surface materials to other surfaces. Solid surface materials commonly used in countertops by their nature are nominally porous and resistant to binding to prevent staining and facilitate cleaning. While these materials may be glued, they often require specialized glues and extended set time and clamping.
The subject invention overcomes the foregoing shortcomings and limitations of laminate and veneer countertops by providing an improved method for manufacture of a vertical countertop surface for joining with the horizontal work surface. A solid surface corner element is located between the horizontal and vertical laminate surfaces with an arcuate or radiused finished surface that fairs into both pieces of laminate. The edges of both pieces of laminate are covered by the corner element. If desired, a second arcuate corner element, similar to the first corner element, can be placed at the lower corner of the edge piece to give a more rounded appearance. The specific improvements of the present invention relate to the finishing of the solid surface corner element prior to bonding to the vertical laminate piece permitting the radiused surface to be finished to 90 degrees or more. Further improvements over the prior art include the mounting of thinner pieces of the expensive solid surface to a less expensive backer material for cost savings and to facilitate bonding of the solid surface corner component to the vertical laminate surface.
The edge piece of the subject invention is made by cutting an arc or radius into a strip of solid surface material. This cut may be of any arc, but will generally be 90 degrees or greater and later finished to 90 degrees to effect a square corner. The solid surface component may be mounted on a backer of wood or wood product material to permit the use of thinner solid surface material than would normally be needed, resulting in cost savings. The vertical laminate surface is mounted to a substrate. The mounted piece is cut at an angle to permit the solid surface component to be glued to the vertical laminate piece such that the tangent of the arc of the solid surface component at the point of the joining resides within or near the plane of the vertical laminate piece surface. The back of the vertical laminate piece substrate and the now joined solid surface corner element create a joined edge piece. The joined edge piece is then finished by removing all overhang portions of the corner element permitting a flush mounting to the face of the horizontal laminate work surface or countertop.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a groove is retained in the base of the vertical laminate piece and the joined solid surface corner element to facilitate gluing. The joined edge piece may also be finished such that the tangent of the arc of the remaining solid surface edge is just greater than 90 degrees to provide a higher degree of finish on joining to the horizontal laminate piece to joined edge piece.
Further benefits of the invention include the ability to use very expensive and exotic material in the corner element at a significant cost savings through the use of a backer and the ability to finish the arc of the solid surface component to any angle desired, in particular, angles of greater than 90 degrees.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide for the improved manufacture of a countertop having a laminate or veneer horizontal top surface and vertical edge face with a solid surface corner component.
It is a further object of the subject invention to reduce production material costs by reducing the amount of solid surface component necessary.
The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.